Storage Channel Pipeline

We held a briefing with startup GreenBytes last week about their new GB-X storage systems. As Dave Raffo from SearchSMBStorage.com explains, the product does inline deduplication of block storage and files. GreenBytes is looking to recruit resellers specializing in either primary or secondary storage. Continued »

As a VAR, it’s always a little tougher to get in the door than it is for a manufacturer. Since you don’t own the technology, you have to rely on the products you represent to get some attention, especially if your potential customer doesn’t know you yet. After you’ve developed a relationship, you’re better known for the value you bring to the table — namely, your ability to diagnose and solve IT problems using a broad range of storage technologies. Continued »

Infrastructure monitoring and capacity optimization tools are always a good play for storage VARs. In a virtual environment, they’re even better. While products like VMware ESX Server can enable you to control more infrastructure, they’re not always easier to use or more effective. In other words, the more you control, the better your controls have to be. Continued »

I spent last week at VMworld and was briefed on several new and very interesting products/companies that storage VARs might want to check out. In this dynamic environment, it’s nice to be showing customers products with compelling advantages, such as these.

Pivot3’s Cloudbank is a 12-drive, 2U appliance that includes an embedded server. Up to 12 appliances can be connected via iSCSI into a grid to provide more than 100 TB of usable capacity in a RAID 6e configuration. (RAID 6e is Pivot3’s enhanced version of RAID 6, protecting against three simultaneous disk failures.) Continued »

In my last entry, “Dedupe: Square peg for round hole?,” I talked about how deduplication as a technology is driving a lot of storage discussions and a lot of storage sales. While it does improve the storage efficiency of a pretty inefficient group of products — backup applications — it doesn’t do anything to reduce the amount of data handled by the backup infrastructure or managed by administrators. Continued »

Talking about dedupe these days will get you into meetings with potential customers. It can also get you orders, based on the success of Data Domain, Exagrid, Nexsan and other suppliers in this space. But focusing on getting orders is called “fulfillment.” Solving problems is consultation — what VARs are supposed to be here for, right? Continued »

ConnectWise has an interesting view of the VAR market. It both acts as a solution provider in the Tampa, Fla., area, and it develops and markets software to automate business processes for IT solution providers. The company started out 28 years ago as a solution provider, and along the way developed software to manage its internal business functions. Over time, it realized it could market the software to its peers. Continued »

Continuity Software, maker of RecoverGuard disaster recovery and business continuity monitoring software, says it’s expanding its channel partner program into Europe and already has a number of VARs lined up to sell RecoverGuard there.